Paper towel dispensers contain a roll of toweling which is fed from the dispenser through a discharge opening by operation of a pair of cooperating feed rolls. In one form of conventional dispenser, the feed rolls are operated by a lever or handle which extends outwardly from the front of the cabinet. Downward movement of the lever will operate through a linkage to rotate the feed rolls and dispense a given length of sheet material through the discharge opening. A spring or other biasing mechanism is associated with the lever to return the lever to its original upper positon.
A second form of dispenser utilizes a small crank located on the side of the cabinet which is operably connected to one of the feed rolls. Rotation of the crank will operate the feed rolls to dispense a continuous length of toweling. Both the lever operated and crank operated dispensers are designed for a single type of operation, meaning that the dispenser cannot be converted from one manner of operation to the other without extensive modification of the drive mechanism. No dispensers have been available in which the operator, in the field, can readily convert from a lever mode of operation to a crank mode.